Method of managing franchises using credit-card payment system

ABSTRACT

A method of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system is provided. The method includes (a) inputting a goods selection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information of the customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the member information to a customer information server of a head office to request member authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer information server, a member authentication request signal for the customer, comparing the member authentication request signal with previously stored member information of the customer to perform authentication processing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d) outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (e) when customer response data for the survey selection items is received from the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to the selection items, and storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database of the customer information server; and (f) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of managing a franchise, andmore particularly, to a method of managing franchises using acredit-card payment system that is capable of surveying and analyzingtransaction information and customer information of a franchise andcustomer service satisfaction for the franchise using a credit-cardpayment system with a sign pad, such that customer and franchisemanagement can be efficiently performed and a business strategy of thefranchise can be established and enhanced.

2. Discussion of Related Art

In recent years, as dietary life patterns change and demand forhigh-quality food increases, a franchise sales approach in which variousfinished products or semi-finished products are produced in largequantities at a head office and supplied to franchises is widely used inthe food industry.

In the franchise sale approach, the head office develops goods,services, know-how, etc. and smoothly distributes and operates a salessystem, and the franchise provides a uniform quality of products andservices to customers based on goods and systems developed by the headoffice.

In particular, the head office recognizes customer complaints andimproves satisfaction to induce customers to consistently purchase theproducts or services and manage the customers, such that the franchisecan easily accumulate customers and maintain a relationship with thecustomers.

Meanwhile, with the rapid development of information processingtechnology and the increase of electronic payment infrastructure,electronic payment systems for paying a price of goods or servicethrough a card medium such as a credit card, a debit card, or a checkcard, card payment terminals such as a customer activated terminal (CAT)or a point of sales (POS) management terminal, and large paymentproviders, i.e., a value added network (VAN) company, have been widelyused.

That is, when a credit card transaction occurs, a credit card franchisescans a credit card provided by a customer (a credit card user) using acard payment terminal to read information from the credit card, andinputs payment information such as transaction amount and an installmentperiod for the transaction. The card payment terminal accesses a VANcompany server for bridging a credit-card company via a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) or the Internet, transmits credit cardinformation and a transaction statement information to the VAN companyserver to request transaction approval, receives an approval numberauthenticating the transaction approval from the VAN company server,outputs a sales statement, and then obtains a signature for transactionevidence from the customer.

Recently, as a scheme of obtaining a digital signature and managing thedigital signature on a computer without using paper and pens is appliedto a credit-card payment system for convenience of signature, thecredit-card payment terminal includes a digital signature device knownas a sign pad for obtaining a signature of a customer.

Such a sign pad has an advantage in that it resolves inconvenience ofsales statement management, but is limited in usage and utilization dueto its simple function of electronically acquiring and storing customersignature information.

Meanwhile, as a survey based on a mobile communication system and theInternet is widely used with the development of informationcommunication technology, various systems and methods for embodying thesurvey are known. For example, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No.2001-105844 discloses a scheme of transmitting questions for a surveyand a corresponding response in a short message form using short messageservice, and Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-38255discloses a scheme for transmitting questions for a survey and acorresponding response using wireless application protocol (WAP).

However, such schemes cannot be applied only to customers purchasingproducts or services at a franchise for the survey, and data collectedfrom unspecified individuals for verification of evaluation is notdirectly associated with a franchise owner providing the services to thecustomer, such that the owner cannot be particularly motivated. Inaddition, the survey is not directly performed on purchasing customerson site, which degrades the reliability and accuracy of the survey.Accordingly, high service quality cannot be expected.

In addition, since most customers and franchise owners tend to bereluctant to make a survey and a corresponding response when there is noparticular incentive, a response rate and a participation rate are verylow, which decreases the objectivity of the data.

Accordingly, it is very difficult for the head office to evaluatecustomer satisfaction for franchises distributed over regions, such thatthe conventional schemes are limited in franchise management.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

While researching a method of promoting efficient customer and franchisemanagement and business efficiency by considering all the matters asdescribed above and realistic conditions and using a credit-card paymentsystem, the inventor has confirmed that a marketing strategy of a headoffice can be established, customers and franchises can be managed, andservice for customers can be further enhanced by surveying and analyzingcustomer satisfaction for franchises through a sign pad or a mobilecommunication terminal in a credit-card payment process.

The present invention is directed to a method of managing franchisesusing a credit-card payment system that is capable of surveying andanalyzing customer satisfaction for franchises in a credit-card paymentprocess.

The present invention is also directed to a method of managingfranchises using a credit-card payment system that is capable ofachieving high practicality and objectivity for a franchise satisfactionsurvey.

The present invention is also directed to a method of managingfranchises using a credit-card payment system that is capable ofinducing survey participation and securing reliability of the survey,and further enhancing service by reflecting the result of the survey oncustomer and franchise management.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system,including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service use statement of acustomer at a franchise to a franchise client to calculate an estimatedpayment amount, inputting member information of the customer to thefranchise client, and transmitting the member information to a customerinformation server of a head office to request member authentication;(b) receiving, by the customer information server, a memberauthentication request signal for the customer, comparing the memberauthentication request signal with previously stored member informationof the customer to perform authentication processing, and transmittingthe result of authentication processing to the franchise client; (c)inputting credit-card payment information for the estimated paymentamount to the franchise client, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (d) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (e) when customerresponse data for the survey selection items is received from the signpad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfactionevaluation information for the franchise according to the selectionitems, and storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server; and (f)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system,including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service use statement of acustomer at a franchise to a franchise client to calculate an estimatedpayment amount, inputting member information of the customer to thefranchise client, and transmitting the member information to a customerinformation server of a head office to request member authentication;(b) receiving, by the customer information server, a memberauthentication request signal for the customer, comparing the memberauthentication request signal with previously stored member informationof the customer to perform authentication processing, and transmittingthe result of authentication processing to the franchise client; (c)inputting credit-card payment information for the estimated paymentamount to the franchise client, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (d) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (e) when customerresponse data for the survey selection items is received from the signpad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfactionevaluation information for the franchise according to the selectionitems, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server, and savingan additional point in the member information of the customer; and (f)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d)outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for serviceprovided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchiseclient; (e) when customer response data for the survey selection itemsis received from the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processingcustomer satisfaction evaluation information for the franchise accordingto the selection items, storing the resultant customer satisfactionevaluation information in a database of the customer information server,determining whether the customer wins an event, and storing the resultof determination in the member information of the customer; and (f)displaying an indication of whether the customer wins an event on thesign pad during a certain period of time and then switching the sign padto a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

Step (e) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

The present invention may further include, between step (e) and step(f), (e-1) calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based onthe customer satisfaction evaluation information, and giving anincentive including franchise point save, return support, giftcertificate provision, or free new-product shipment to a good franchiseand a penalty including participation in periodic education performed bythe head office, order restriction during a certain period of time, orreturn restriction to a bad franchise according to a policy of the headoffice.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for service satisfaction forthe franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f)when customer response data for the survey selection items is receivedfrom the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, and storing the resultant customer satisfactionevaluation information in a database of the customer information server;and (g) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for service satisfaction forthe franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f)when customer response data for the survey selection items is receivedfrom the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server, and savingan additional point in the member information of the customer; and (g)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for service satisfaction forthe franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f)when customer response data for the survey selection items is receivedfrom the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server,determining whether the customer wins an event, and storing the resultof determination in the member information of the customer; and (g)displaying an indication of whether the customer wins an event on thesign pad during a certain period of time and then switching the sign padto a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

Step (f) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting credit-card payment information for agoods selection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise toa franchise client, requesting a card company for payment approval, andreceiving approval information; (b) outputting selection items forservice satisfaction for the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client; (c) when customer response data for the surveyselection items is received from the sign pad, analyzing andstatistically processing customer satisfaction evaluation informationfor the franchise according to the selection items, and storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database ofthe customer information server of the head office; and (d) switchingthe sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting credit-card payment information for agoods selection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise toa franchise client, requesting a card company for payment approval, andreceiving approval information; (b) outputting selection items forservice satisfaction for the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client; (c) when customer response data for the surveyselection items is received from the sign pad, analyzing andstatistically processing customer satisfaction evaluation informationfor the franchise according to the selection items, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database ofa customer information server of a head office, and determining whetherthe customer wins an event; and (d) displaying an indication of whetherthe customer wins an event on the sign pad during a certain period oftime and then switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.

Step (c) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

The present invention may include, between step (c) and step (d), (c-1)calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based on the customersatisfaction evaluation information, and giving an incentive includingfranchise point save, return support, gift certificate provision, orfree new-product shipment to a good franchise and a penalty includingparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction to abad franchise according to a policy of the head office.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting credit-card payment information for agoods selection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise toa franchise client, confirming a discountable amount of an estimatedpayment amount from a customer information server of a head office whenthe customer selects point use, and deducting a point corresponding tothe discountable amount from a previously saved point in memberinformation of the customer; (b) subtracting, by the franchise client,an amount corresponding to the deducted point from the estimated paymentamount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (c)outputting selection items for service satisfaction for the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (d) when customerresponse data for the survey selection items is received from the signpad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfactionevaluation information for the franchise according to the selectionitems, and storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server; and (e)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting credit-card payment information for agoods selection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise toa franchise client, confirming a discountable amount of an estimatedpayment amount from a customer information server of a head office whenthe customer selects point use, and deducting a point corresponding tothe discountable amount from a previously saved point in memberinformation of the customer; (b) subtracting, by the franchise client,an amount corresponding to the deducted point from the estimated paymentamount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (c)outputting selection items for service satisfaction for the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (d) when customerresponse data for the survey selection items is received from the signpad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfactionevaluation information for the franchise according to the selectionitems, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server, anddetermining whether the customer wins an event; and (e) displaying anindication of whether the customer wins an event on the sign pad duringa certain period of time and then switching the sign pad to a screen forobtaining a digital signature.

Step (d) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

The present invention may further include, between step (d) and step(e), (d-1) calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based onthe customer satisfaction evaluation information, and giving anincentive including franchise point save, return support, giftcertificate provision, or free new-product shipment to a good franchiseand a penalty including participation in periodic education performed bythe head office, order restriction during a certain period of time, orreturn restriction to a bad franchise according to a policy of the headoffice.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d)outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for serviceprovided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchiseclient and asking whether the customer desires to receive survey contentthrough a mobile communication terminal of the customer; (e) when aselection input for the customer to receive the survey content throughthe mobile communication terminal is received from the sign pad,transmitting, by the customer information server, the selection itemsfor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise to themobile communication terminal of the customer through telecommunicationcompany service based on the member information of the customer; (f)receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customer response datafor the survey selection items from the mobile communication terminal ofthe customer and transmitting the customer response data to the customerinformation server; (g) analyzing and statistically processing, by thecustomer information server, customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise, and storing the resultant customersatisfaction evaluation information in a database; and (h) switching thesign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d)outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for serviceprovided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchiseclient and asking whether the customer desires to receive survey contentthrough a mobile communication terminal of the customer; (e) when aselection input for the customer to receive the survey content throughthe mobile communication terminal is received from the sign pad,transmitting, by the customer information server, the selection itemsfor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise to themobile communication terminal of the customer through telecommunicationcompany service based on the member information of the customer; (f)receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customer response datafor the survey selection items from the mobile communication terminal ofthe customer and transmitting the customer response data to the customerinformation server; (g) analyzing and statistically processing, by thecustomer information server, customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise, storing the resultant customersatisfaction evaluation information in a database, and saving anadditional point in the member information of the customer; and (h)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d)outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for serviceprovided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchiseclient and asking whether the customer desires to receive survey contentthrough a mobile communication terminal of the customer; (e) when aselection input for the customer to receive the survey content throughthe mobile communication terminal is received from the sign pad,transmitting, by the customer information server, the selection itemsfor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise to themobile communication terminal of the customer through telecommunicationcompany service based on the member information of the customer; (f)receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customer response datafor the survey selection items from the mobile communication terminal ofthe customer and transmitting the customer response data to the customerinformation server; (g) analyzing and statistically processing, by thecustomer information server, customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise, storing the resultant customersatisfaction evaluation information in a database, determining whetherthe customer wins an event, and storing the result of determination inthe member information of the customer; and (h) displaying an indicationof whether the customer wins an event on the sign pad during a certainperiod of time and then switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaininga digital signature.

Step (g) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

The present invention may include, between step (g) and step (h), (g-1)calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based on the customersatisfaction evaluation information, and giving an incentive includingfranchise point save, return support, gift certificate provision, orfree new-product shipment to a good franchise and a penalty includingparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction to abad franchise according to a policy of the head office.

The present invention may include, between step (b) and step (c), (b-1)calculating, by the franchise client, a point in a predeterminationratio of the estimated payment amount, and saving and storing the pointin the member information of the customer in the customer informationserver.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client and asking whether the customer desires to receivesurvey content through a mobile communication terminal of the customer;(f) when a selection input for the customer to receive the surveycontent through the mobile communication terminal is received from thesign pad, transmitting, by the customer information server, theselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise to the mobile communication terminal of the customer throughtelecommunication company service based on the member information of thecustomer; (g) receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customerresponse data for the survey selection items from the mobilecommunication terminal of the customer and transmitting the customerresponse data to the customer information server; (h) analyzing andstatistically processing, by the customer information server, customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise, and storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database;and (i) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client and asking whether the customer desires to receivesurvey content through a mobile communication terminal of the customer;(f) when a selection input for the customer to receive the surveycontent through the mobile communication terminal is received from thesign pad, transmitting, by the customer information server, theselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise to the mobile communication terminal of the customer throughtelecommunication company service based on the member information of thecustomer; (g) receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customerresponse data for the survey selection items from the mobilecommunication terminal of the customer and transmitting the customerresponse data to the customer information server; (h) analyzing andstatistically processing, by the customer information server, customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database,and saving an additional point in the member information of thecustomer; and (i) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining adigital signature.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, including: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client and asking whether the customer desires to receivesurvey content through a mobile communication terminal of the customer;(f) when a selection input for the customer to receive the surveycontent through the mobile communication terminal is received from thesign pad, transmitting, by the customer information server, theselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise to the mobile communication terminal of the customer throughtelecommunication company service based on the member information of thecustomer; (g) receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customerresponse data for the survey selection items from the mobilecommunication terminal of the customer and transmitting the customerresponse data to the customer information server; (h) analyzing andstatistically processing, by the customer information server, customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database,determining whether the customer wins an event, and storing the resultof determination in the member information of the customer; and (i)displaying an indication of whether the customer wins an event on thesign pad during a certain period of time and then switching the sign padto a screen for obtaining a digital signature.

Step (h) may include converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time.

The present invention may further include, between step (h) and step(i), (h-1) calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based onthe customer satisfaction evaluation information, and giving anincentive including franchise point save, return support, giftcertificate provision, or free new-product shipment to a good franchiseand a penalty including participation in periodic education performed bythe head office, order restriction during a certain period of time, orreturn restriction to a bad franchise according to a policy of the headoffice.

Step (a) may include inputting the use statement of goods using a barcode or a unique number of goods that the customer desires to purchase,and inputting the member information of the customer using a membershipcard provided by the customer or any one of a member registrationnumber, a resident registration number, or a telephone number of thecustomer.

The franchise client and the customer information server may include apoint of sales management (POS) system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a network to which a credit-cardpayment system according to the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a sign pad in the credit-card paymentsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a screen for a franchise client connected to thecredit-card payment system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen for a sign pad in the credit-card paymentsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a customer information server connected tothe credit-card payment system according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating a method of managingfranchises using a credit-card payment system according to a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing franchises usinga credit-card payment system according to a second exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While thepresent invention is shown and described in connection with exemplaryembodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications can be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

Terminologies used in the description of the present invention aredefined by considering functions in the present invention and should beconstrued as having a concept according to the present invention and ameaning widely used in a technical field.

A detailed description of the present invention and related knownfunctions or configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when itobscures the subject matter of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a network to which a credit-cardpayment system according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2is a block diagram of a sign pad in the credit-card payment systemaccording to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the credit-card payment system according to thepresent invention includes a franchise client 100, a VAN company server200, a credit-card company server 300, a customer information server400, a telecommunication company server 600, and a mobile communicationterminal 700.

First, the franchise client 100 is disposed at a franchise and includesa sign pad 110 for obtaining a signature of a credit card user as anelectrical signal and displaying the signature as an image. Thefranchise client 100 further includes an EMV (contact: IC, contactless:RF), a card reader (MSR), etc. for payment and payment processing(receipt issuing), so that any type of credit payment can be performed.

The franchise client 100 is assigned a unique number such as a serialnumber. The unique number together with survey data received from thecustomer is transmitted from the sign pad 110 to the customerinformation server 400, so that a region at which the franchise islocated can be identified by the unique number.

In addition, the franchise client 100 obtains a numerical value ofcustomer satisfaction evaluation information and analysis content, anddisplays it in real time, as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sign pad 110 includes an input/output module111, a control module 112, a communication processing module 113, and amemory module 114.

The input/output module 111 outputs an images for courtesy orsatisfaction survey for franchises, a signature request image, or imagesstored in the memory module 114 to a credit card user upon successfultransaction approval or successful payment completion.

In the sign pad 110, the input/output module 111 includes a display unitfor outputting an image or text, which may be implemented by, forexample, a LCD.

The control module 112 compresses and encrypts content input by theinput/output module 111 when the content is transmitted to thecommunication processing module 113 and the memory module 114.

The control module 112 has survey information for service satisfactionfor franchises, and outputs survey items through the input/output module111.

Here, the survey items may be classified into very satisfied, satisfied,average, dissatisfied, cellular phone response, etc. and be output, asshown in FIG. 4. However, it is understood that the survey items are notlimited thereto, but may be variously classified into cleanliness of thefranchise, greetings, demeanor and attitude of employees, etc.

The communication processing module 113 is connected to the franchiseclient 100 via a network, a cable, or a wireless local areacommunication.

The memory module 114 stores all information for the sign pad, such asvarious images or sounds.

Accordingly, when the credit-card company server 300 approves payment inresponse to a payment request from the franchise client 100, a customersignature input by the input/output module 111 of the sign pad 110 iscompressed and encrypted by the control module 112 and transmitted tothe franchise client 100 via the communication processing module 113.

Meanwhile, the franchise client 100 may be a terminal including a readerfor reading card information, such as an inquiry terminal or a point ofsale (POS) terminal for credit card approval. That is, the franchiseclient 100 may be a terminal having a credit approval or cash receiptissue function using card information of a credit card, or a POSterminal having an article management function, as well as the creditapproval or cash receipt issue function.

The franchise client 100 reads card information stored in a membershipcard and a credit card provided by the customer, e.g., a card type, acard number and expiration date, etc. through a reader, and inputs anestimated payment amount and a point dependent on the estimated paymentamount.

The franchise client 100 receives a use statement of goods or servicethat the customer desires to purchase, and member information of thecustomer. When the customer does not possess a membership card, thefranchise client 100 may receive a member registration number given uponissue of a membership card, or a resident registration number or atelephone number of the customer.

Here, price of goods, service use statement, etc. may be automaticallyinput by a scanner or manually directly input by a franchise owner, anemployee, or cashier. In particular, goods information may be obtainedthrough a bar code or a unique number of the goods.

Payment information including credit card information and memberinformation read by the franchise client 100 and a payment amount inputat the franchise client 100 are transmitted to the credit-card companyserver 300 via a value added network (VAN) company server 200 using awired/wireless modem and the network 500, such as a PSTN or theInternet, or to the customer information server 400 of the head officevia the network 500.

The VAN company server 200 checks a type of card based on the cardinformation in the credit-card payment information transmitted from thefranchise client 100 to identify a credit-card company, and requests acredit-card company server 300 for payment approval via a packetcommunication network such as X.25 or via the network 500.

The credit-card company server 300 includes a credit informationdatabase for storing credit information consisting of member informationof registered members, and card numbers and passwords of issued cards,and a payment statement database for storing a payment statement. Thecredit-card company server 300 approves or declines the payment througha predetermined procedure in response to payment inquiry from the VANcompany server 200.

The customer information server 400 is connected to a plurality offranchise clients 100-1, 100-2, . . . , 100-n via the network 500 forcollecting survey data from customers, storing the survey data in adatabase, and analyzing the survey data.

The customer information server 400 manages franchises and customers ofthe franchises as members, and includes a database 420 for storingvarious items of information, including member information for membermanagement such as point save, promotional gift presentation, event,etc., franchise information for franchise management such asbusiness-related special treatments or incentive, a penalty statement,an education participation rate, a return rate, and contract content,various survey contents including customer satisfaction for stores orservices displayed on the sign pad 110, survey information for periodmanagement, and criteria for operating the survey.

Here, the customer information server 400 may be managed based on thefranchise client 100 and a POS system for broad and efficient customerand franchise management.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a customer information server connected tothe credit-card payment system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a customer information server 400 includes asign-pad management module 410, a mobile-communication-terminalmanagement module 411, an input information collector 412, a memberauthentication processor 413, an analysis and statistics processor 414,a survey item manager 415, a satisfaction index calculator 416, a pointand event processor 417, a database management module 418, and adatabase 420.

The sign-pad management module 410 performs data communication with theplurality of franchise clients 100-1, 100-2, . . . , 100-n to transmitsurvey data and receive corresponding response data from customers, andmanages the franchise clients 100-1, 100-2, . . . , 100-n. The sign-padmanagement module 410 performs update processing for transmitting thesurvey data to sign pads 110-1, 110-2, . . . , 110-n, and transmits datasuch as a statistical analysis result and a calculated customersatisfaction index from the customer information server 400 to thefranchise clients 100-1, 100-2, . . . , 100-n.

The mobile-communication-terminal management module 411 requests thetelecommunication company server 600 to transmit survey content tocustomers authenticated by the member authentication processor 413,i.e., authenticated members using telephone numbers included in themember information.

The input information collector 412 collects response data received viathe sign-pad management module 410 or the mobile-communication-terminalmanagement module 411, classifies the response data according tofranchise clients disposed at several regions, and stores the responsedata.

Here, the data collected by the input information collector 412 areclassified according to regions, franchises, and both, based on uniquenumbers allocated to the respective franchise clients. The data mayinclude member information data for identifying the customers and may beresponse data from the customer responding to one or more survey items.

The member authentication processor 413 determines whether a customer isa member or a customer duplicately responding to the survey based on themember information data collected by the input information collector412. When the customer is not a member, the member authenticationprocessor 413 induces the customer to be a member, and when the customeris a customer duplicately responding to the survey, the memberauthentication processor 413 excludes the customer.

For high reliability and objectivity of survey analysis, the memberauthentication processor 413 may allow the data to be used for analysisonly when the customer is authenticated as a member based on the memberinformation input via the franchise client 100, and may store a surveyresponse number according to a customer, a date, and a time zone forfranchises.

The analysis and statistics processor 414 separates data authenticatedby the member authentication processor 413 and data not authenticated bythe member authentication processor 413 from the survey data collectedby the input information collector 412, stores the data in a databaseaccording to items, and analyzes and statistically processes theresponse data according to the items and information to create customersatisfaction evaluation information. For example, the analysis andstatistics processor 414 may analyze the response data and performclassification according to a region, a franchise, and a sex and age ofcustomers on the whole or based on a unique number for statisticalcalculation.

The survey item manager 415 provides various types of surveys accordingto a goods purchase and service use statement for customers, andprovides content-type surveys dependent on an event, a season, etc. forparticular customers when a predetermined period has lapsed since theparticular customers are managed. In this case, content of the surveymay include a message explaining brief survey content to customers andrequesting the customers to respond to the survey, and an announcementthat a point will be saved or a free gift will be provided through aprize drawing for customers responding to the survey.

The survey may also include a menu “Respond To Survey.” When a customerselects a specific item and then presses a transfer button, a responseto the survey is automatically transmitted.

It is understood that question items for a customer satisfaction surveymay be stored by the survey item manager 415 or the question items maynot be separately stored but included in the survey content, and thequestion items may be variously changed with a period, an event, or aseason.

The satisfaction index calculator 416 calculates a satisfaction indexfor each franchise based on the analysis result from the analysis andstatistics processor 414. That is, the satisfaction index calculator 416may convert customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction for franchisesproviding goods and service into a numerical value, such as a percentageor a score.

The point and event processor 417 saves a point and provides an eventonly for a customer responding to the survey, determines whether thecustomer wins the event through a prize drawing, and transmits anindication of the saved point and the drawing result. That is, the pointand event processor 417 may provide a point as a predeterminedpercentage of price of goods purchased by the customer, provide adifferent additional point according to a survey response andparticipation number, and provide a coupon having a coupon numberwritten to a receipt output upon credit-card payment, a giftcertificate, electronic money, etc. or an incentive such as anadditional point to a customer winning an event, such that the customercan be induced to more positively respond to and participate in thesurvey.

When a survey response number calculated in real time by the memberauthentication processor 413 reaches a predetermined level, the pointand event processor 417 may determine the customer as a winner.

The point and event processor 417 may also store special-treatment andincentive information for each franchise in cooperation with thesatisfaction index calculator 416.

The database management module 418 accesses, changes, and deletes datain the database 420 and maintains and manages the database 420 forstoring member and franchise information. Also, the database managementmodule 418 stores the information from the analysis and statisticsprocessor 414 in the database 420.

The database 420 stores various pieces of data processed by the customerinformation server 400.

Meanwhile, the customer information server 400 may allow a systemmanager to easily perform maintenance, monitor analysis and input/outputperformed by the customer information server 400 in real time, and inputnew survey data, using a manager terminal (not shown) separatelyconnected to the customer information server 400.

The telecommunication company server 600 receives customer satisfactionsurvey data from the customer information server 400, immediatelytransmits the survey data to the mobile communication terminal 700 ofthe customer according to a previously set script, receives responsedata from the mobile communication terminal 700, and delivers theresponse data to the customer information server 400. In this case, thecustomer information server 400 receives the customer response data forthe satisfaction survey through telecommunication company service, andanalyzes, statistically processes and stores the response data.

Here, the telecommunication company server 600 charges the customerinformation server 400 for a data use fee for the survey response of thecustomer through the mobile communication terminal 700, and receives theuse fee from the head office, which manages the customer informationserver 400, such that free service can be provided to the customer toincrease survey response and participation rates.

The mobile communication terminal 700 is connected to thetelecommunication company server 600 via a mobile communication networkor a wireless Internet. The mobile communication terminal 700 receivesthe customer satisfaction survey data and returns a response to thecustomer satisfaction survey. That is, in order to receive an opinionfrom the customer, the mobile communication terminals 700-1, 700-2, . .. , 700-n used by customers of the franchise output the survey datatransmitted from the customer information server 400 through thetelecommunication company service, receive a customer response, andtransmit the customer response to the customer information server 400through the telecommunication company service.

Here, short message service (SMS) mainly providing text messages andmultimedia message service (MMS) providing multimedia messagescontaining photographs, sound, and/or moving-images may be used for thecustomer satisfaction survey data, and examples of the mobilecommunication terminal 700 capable of receiving such services include acellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.

Also, the customer can download survey content or receive the surveycontent in a streaming form in real time via the mobile communicationterminal 700. After executing the survey content, the customer may inputand transmit response data to the survey items by using a button of themobile communication terminal 700.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing franchises usinga credit-card payment system according to a first exemplary embodimentof the present invention, in which a customer provides a membership cardor indicates a member registration number, a resident registrationnumber, or a telephone number.

Referring to FIG. 6, when a customer selects goods and/or uses serviceand then provides a membership card or indicates member information,such as member registration number, a resident registration number or atelephone number, an employee or a cashier of a franchise inputs a goodsor service use statement to the franchise client 100 to calculate anestimated payment amount, and inputs member information of the customerto the franchise client 100 using, for example, a reader (S10).

The franchise client 100 then transmits the member information, such asthe member registration number, the resident registration number, or thetelephone number, obtained by reading the membership card or the inputthe member information to the customer information server 400 of thehead office to request inquiry and member authentication. The customerinformation server 400 compares a member authentication request signalfor the customer with previously stored member information of thecustomer to perform authentication processing and transmits the resultof authentication processing to the franchise client 100 (S11).

When the customer information server 400 authenticates the member, thefranchise client 100 calculates a point as a predetermined percentage ofthe estimated payment amount (S12).

The franchise client 100 then confirms whether there is an availablepoint from the member information of the customer, and determineswhether the customer desires to use the available point for payment(S13).

When it is determined that the customer selects and requests point use,the franchise client 100 confirms a discountable amount of the estimatedpayment amount from the customer information server 400, deducts a pointcorresponding to the discountable amount from the saved point in themember information of the customer, transmits a payment statementincluding a deduction statement to the franchise client 100, and storesthe payment statement in the database 420 of the customer informationserver 400 (S14). On the other hand, when there is no available point inthe member information of the customer, the customer information server400 transmits a message indicating that a discount benefit isunavailable, to the franchise client 100, and saves a new point (S25).

The franchise client 100 then subtracts an amount corresponding to thededucted point from the estimated payment amount to re-calculate anestimated payment amount, receives credit-card payment information,requests the card company for credit-card payment information inquiryand payment approval via the VAN company server 200 (S15), and receivespayment approval from the credit-card company server 300 via the VANcompany server 200 (S16).

The franchise client 100 then outputs a selection item screen or imagefor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise on thedisplay unit of the sign pad (S17), and counts an output time of theselection item screen or image to determine whether about 5 seconds haveelapsed (S18). When 5 seconds have lapsed, the franchise client 100directly proceeds to step S23, in which the sign pad is automaticallyswitched to a digital signature screen.

Subsequently, the franchise client 100 determines whether the customerresponds to the survey (S19). When the customer responds to the survey,the customer information server 400 analyzes and statistically processesresponse data according to the selection items for the satisfactionsurvey for the service provided by the franchise, and stores theresultant response data in the database 420 (S20). When the customerdoes not respond to the survey during a certain period of time, thefranchise client 100 directly proceeds to step S23, in which the signpad is automatically switched to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.

The customer information server 400 then calculates and creates customersatisfaction evaluation information based on the satisfaction responsedata from the customer, gives an incentive or a penalty to the franchise(S21), and transmits the calculated customer satisfaction evaluationinformation to the franchise client 100 in real time to display thecustomer satisfaction evaluation information (S22).

The franchise client 100 then switches the display unit of the sign pad110 to the screen for obtaining a digital signature (S23), and obtains adigital signature from the customer to complete the payment (S24).

Here, the incentive or the penalty is given to the franchise accordingto a policy of the head office. The incentive such as franchise pointsave, return support, gift certificate provision, or free new-productshipment may be given to a good franchise, and the penalty such asparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction maybe given to a bad franchise.

An additional point may be saved or a coupon through various events canbe provided for a customer responding to the survey. In addition, thisfact may be displayed on the sign pad 110 during a predetermined time(about 3 seconds) so that the customer can immediately confirm, on site,whether an additional point is saved or the customer wins the event.

Meanwhile, when the customer selects and requests point save in stepS12, the franchise client 100 calculates a point as a predeterminedpercentage of the estimated payment amount, and saves and stores thecalculated point in the member information of the customer in thecustomer information server 400 (S25).

The employee or the cashier then inputs credit-card payment informationfor the estimated payment amount to the franchise client 100, whichrequests the card company for credit-card payment information inquiryand payment approval via the VAN company server 200, and receivesapproval information, as described above (S15).

Thus, the head office can exactly and naturally survey and analyzecustomer satisfaction or complaints for the franchise providing goods orservice via the sign pad in a credit-card payment process, such that thehead office can develop new goods or perform marketing, positively copewith the customer complaints, and advantageously and thoroughly managefranchises. The franchise can receive and use all items of informationincluding customer complaints and satisfaction to provide high-qualityservice.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a method ofmanaging franchises using a credit-card payment system according to thefirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which a customerneither provides a membership card nor indicates a member registrationnumber, a resident registration number, or a telephone number.

Referring to FIG. 7, when a customer selects goods and/or uses serviceand then requests payment, an employee or a cashier in a franchiseinputs a use statement of the goods or service to the franchise client100 (S30).

The franchise client 100 then receives credit-card payment informationand requests a card company for credit-card payment information inquiryand payment approval via the VAN company server 200 (S31).

The franchise client 100 then receives payment approval from thecredit-card company server 300 via the VAN company server 200 (S32).

The franchise client 100 then outputs a selection item screen or imagefor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise on thedisplay unit of the sign pad (S33), and counts an output time of theselection item screen or image to determine whether about 5 seconds haveelapsed (S34). When 5 seconds have elapsed, the franchise client 100directly proceeds to step S39, in which the sign pad is automaticallyswitched to the screen for obtaining a digital signature.

Subsequently, the franchise client 100 determines whether the customerresponds to the survey (S35). When the customer responds to the survey,the franchise client 100 stores response data in the database 420 of thecustomer information server according to the selection items for thesatisfaction survey for the service provided by the franchise (S36). Onthe other hand, when the customer does not respond to the survey duringa certain period of time, the franchise client 100 directly proceeds tostep S39, in which the sign pad is automatically switched to the screenfor obtaining a digital signature.

The customer information server 400 then calculates and creates customersatisfaction evaluation information based on the satisfaction responsedata from the customer, gives an incentive or a penalty to the franchise(S37), and transmits the calculated customer satisfaction evaluationinformation to the franchise client 100 in real time to display thecustomer satisfaction evaluation information (S38).

The franchise client 100 then switches the display unit of the sign pad110 to the screen for obtaining a digital signature (S39), and obtains adigital signature from the customer to complete the payment (S40).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing franchises usinga credit-card payment system according to a second exemplary embodimentof the present invention, in which a customer provides a membership cardor indicates a member registration number, a resident registrationnumber, or a telephone number, and selects a survey and response througha mobile communication terminal in a payment process through a sign pad.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the customer selects goods and/or uses serviceand then provides a membership card or indicates member information,such as a member registration number, a resident registration number ora telephone number, an employee or a cashier in the franchise inputs agoods or service use statement to the franchise client 100 to calculatean estimated payment amount, and inputs member information of thecustomer to the franchise client 100 using, for example, a reader (S50).

The franchise client 100 then transmits the member information, such asthe member registration number, the resident registration number, or thetelephone number input or obtained by reading the membership card to thecustomer information server 400 of the head office to request memberinformation inquiry and member authentication. The customer informationserver 400 compares a member authentication request signal for thecustomer with previously stored member information of the customer toperform authentication processing and transmits the result ofauthentication processing to the franchise client 100 (S51).

When the customer information server 400 authenticates the member, thefranchise client 100 calculates a point as a predetermined percentage ofthe estimated payment amount (S52).

The franchise client 100 then confirms whether there is an availablepoint from the member information of the customer, and determineswhether the customer desires to use the available point for payment(S53).

When it is determined that the customer selects and requests point use,the franchise client 100 confirms a discountable amount of the estimatedpayment amount from the customer information server 400, which deducts apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from the saved point inthe member information of the customer, transmits a payment statementincluding a deduction statement to the franchise client 100, and storesthe payment statement in the database 420 of the customer informationserver 400 (S54). On the other hand, when there is no available point inthe member information of the customer, the customer information server400 transmits a message indicating that a discount benefit isunavailable, to the franchise client 100, and saves a new point (S67).

The franchise client 100 then subtracts an amount corresponding to thededucted point from the estimated payment amount to re-calculate anestimated payment amount, receives credit-card payment information,requests the card company for credit-card payment information inquiryand payment approval via the VAN company server 200 (S55), and receivespayment approval from the credit-card company server 300 via the VANcompany server 200 (S56).

The franchise client 100 then outputs a selection item screen or imagefor a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchise on thedisplay unit of the sign pad 100 (S57), and determines whether thecustomer selects a survey and response through the mobile communicationterminal 700 (S58). In this case, when there is no response from thecustomer during a certain period of time, the franchise client 100directly proceeds to step S65, in which the sign pad is automaticallyswitched to the screen for obtaining a digital signature.

When it is determined in step S58 that the customer selects the surveyand response through the mobile communication terminal 700, survey datais transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 700 of the customerthrough telecommunication company service (S59).

A determination is then made as to whether the customer responds to thesurvey through the mobile communication terminal 700 (S60). When thecustomer responds to the survey, the telecommunication company server600 receives response data from the customer and transmits the responsedata to the customer information server 400 (S61).

The customer information server 400 analyzes and statistically processesthe response data according to selection items for service satisfactionsurvey and stores the resultant response data in the database 420 of thecustomer information server (S62). On the other hand, when the customerdoes not respond to the survey during a certain period of time, thefranchise client 100 directly proceeds to step S65, in which the signpad is automatically switched to the screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.

The customer information server 400 subsequently calculates and createscustomer satisfaction evaluation information based on the response datafor satisfaction from the customer, gives an incentive or a penalty tothe franchise (S63), and transmits the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation to the franchise client 100 in real time to display thecustomer satisfaction evaluation information (S64).

The franchise client 100 then switches the display unit of the sign pad110 to a screen for obtaining a digital signature (S65) and obtains thedigital signature from the customer to complete the payment (S66).

Here, the incentive or the penalty is given to the franchise accordingto a policy of the head office. The incentive such as franchise pointsave, return support, gift certificate provision, or free new-productshipment may be given to a good franchise, and the penalty such asparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction maybe given to a bad franchise.

An additional point may be saved or a coupon through various events canbe provided for a customer responding to the survey. In addition, thisfact may be displayed on the sign pad 110 during a predetermined time(about 3 seconds) so that the customer can immediately confirm, on site,whether an additional point is saved or the customer wins the event.

Meanwhile, when the customer selects and requests point save in stepS53, the franchise client 100 calculates a point as a predeterminedpercentage of the estimated payment amount, and saves and stores thecalculated point in the member information of the customer in thecustomer information server 400 (S67).

The employee or the cashier then inputs credit-card payment informationfor the estimated payment amount to the franchise client 100, whichrequests the card company for credit-card payment information inquiryand payment approval via the VAN company server 200, and receivesapproval information, as described above (S55).

According to the present invention, customer's opinions includingsatisfaction or complaints related to a franchise providing goods orservice, frequently generated at the franchise, are provided in arating-specific survey form through the sign pad or the mobilecommunication terminal in a credit-card payment process, and a responsefrom the customer is simply and directly received on site and convertedinto data, such that customer service satisfaction for the franchise canbe objectively and exactly surveyed and analyzed and the head office canutilize the data as management guidance data to further enhancespecialized service by giving various business-related specialtreatments, incentives, supports or penalties to the franchises. Inaddition, customer management can be performed through rapid follow-upmeasures, such as notification of a process of handling customercomplaints and the result of processing, and a custom marketing strategyfor resolving a problem with the franchise can be established.

Also, reliability and accuracy of the survey can be secured through amember authentication process performed on customers as survey objects,high effectiveness of expost facto measures to urge the franchise forproper action and correction can be achieved by transmitting anddisplaying the result of satisfaction evaluation to a franchise clientin real time, and customers can be motivated and induced forparticipation by rewarding the customers for a survey response.

Furthermore, since customer's desire can be individually satisfied usingevaluation information from the customer, reliability between thefranchise and the customer can be enhanced and a strong relationship canbe established therebetween, such that purchasing power of customers canbe increased and new customers can be secured due to propagation ofbrands and products through oral tradition. Thus, the franchise canexpect high profitability due to increase of sales.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications can be made to the above-described exemplary embodimentsof the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention coversall such modifications provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system,comprising: (a) inputting a goods selection or service use statement ofa customer at a franchise to a franchise client to calculate anestimated payment amount, inputting member information of the customerto the franchise client, and transmitting the member information to acustomer information server of a head office to request memberauthentication; (b) receiving, by the customer information server, amember authentication request signal for the customer, comparing themember authentication request signal with previously stored memberinformation of the customer to perform authentication processing, andtransmitting the result of authentication processing to the franchiseclient; (c) inputting credit-card payment information for the estimatedpayment amount to the franchise client, requesting a card company forpayment approval, and receiving approval information; (d) outputtingselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (e) whencustomer response data for the survey selection items is received fromthe sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, and storing the resultant customer satisfactionevaluation information in a database of the customer information server;and (f) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.
 2. A method of managing franchises using a credit-cardpayment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goods selection or serviceuse statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (d)outputting selection items for a satisfaction survey for serviceprovided by the franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchiseclient; (e) when customer response data for the survey selection itemsis received from the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processingcustomer satisfaction evaluation information for the franchise accordingto the selection items, storing the resultant customer satisfactionevaluation information in a database of the customer information server,and saving an additional point in the member information of thecustomer; and (f) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining adigital signature.
 3. A method of managing franchises using acredit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goods selectionor service use statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchiseclient to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputting memberinformation of the customer to the franchise client, and transmittingthe member information to a customer information server of a head officeto request member authentication; (b) receiving, by the customerinformation server, a member authentication request signal for thecustomer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (d) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client; (e) when customer response data for the surveyselection items is received from the sign pad, analyzing andstatistically processing customer satisfaction evaluation informationfor the franchise according to the selection items, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database ofthe customer information server, determining whether the customer winsan event, and storing the result of determination in the memberinformation of the customer; and (f) displaying an indication of whetherthe customer wins an event on the sign pad during a certain period oftime and then switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.
 4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein step (e)comprises converting the customer satisfaction evaluation informationinto a numerical value and transmitting the numerical value to thefranchise client to display the numerical value in real time.
 5. Themethod of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising, between step (e)and step (f), (e-1) calculating an evaluation rating for the franchisebased on the customer satisfaction evaluation information, and giving anincentive including franchise point save, return support, giftcertificate provision, or free new-product shipment to a good franchiseand a penalty including participation in periodic education performed bythe head office, order restriction during a certain period of time, orreturn restriction to a bad franchise according to a policy of the headoffice.
 6. A method of managing franchises using a credit-card paymentsystem, comprising: (a) inputting a goods selection or service usestatement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for service satisfaction forthe franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f)when customer response data for the survey selection items is receivedfrom the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, and storing the resultant customer satisfactionevaluation information in a database of the customer information server;and (g) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.
 7. A method of managing franchises using a credit-cardpayment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goods selection or serviceuse statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchise client tocalculate an estimated payment amount, inputting member information ofthe customer to the franchise client, and transmitting the memberinformation to a customer information server of a head office to requestmember authentication; (b) receiving, by the customer informationserver, a member authentication request signal for the customer,comparing the member authentication request signal with previouslystored member information of the customer to perform authenticationprocessing, and transmitting the result of authentication processing tothe franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card payment information forthe estimated payment amount to the franchise client, confirming adiscountable amount of the estimated payment amount from the customerinformation server when the customer selects point use, and deducting apoint corresponding to the discountable amount from a previously savedpoint in the member information of the customer; (d) subtracting, by thefranchise client, an amount corresponding to the deducted point from theestimated payment amount to re-calculate an estimated payment amount,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (e) outputting selection items for service satisfaction forthe franchise through a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f)when customer response data for the survey selection items is receivedfrom the sign pad, analyzing and statistically processing customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise according to theselection items, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server, and savingan additional point in the member information of the customer; and (g)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature. 8.A method of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system,comprising: (a) inputting a goods selection or service use statement ofa customer at a franchise to a franchise client to calculate anestimated payment amount, inputting member information of the customerto the franchise client, and transmitting the member information to acustomer information server of a head office to request memberauthentication; (b) receiving, by the customer information server, amember authentication request signal for the customer, comparing themember authentication request signal with previously stored memberinformation of the customer to perform authentication processing, andtransmitting the result of authentication processing to the franchiseclient; (c) inputting credit-card payment information for the estimatedpayment amount to the franchise client, confirming a discountable amountof the estimated payment amount from the customer information serverwhen the customer selects point use, and deducting a point correspondingto the discountable amount from a previously saved point in the memberinformation of the customer; (d) subtracting, by the franchise client,an amount corresponding to the deducted point from the estimated paymentamount to recalculate an estimated payment amount, requesting a cardcompany for payment approval, and receiving approval information; (e)outputting selection items for service satisfaction for the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client; (f) when customerresponse data for the survey selection items is received from the signpad, analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfactionevaluation information for the franchise according to the selectionitems, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database of the customer information server,determining whether the customer wins an event, and storing the resultof determination in the member information of the customer; and (g)displaying an indication of whether the customer wins an event on thesign pad during a certain period of time and then switching the sign padto a screen for obtaining a digital signature.
 9. The method of any oneof claims 6 to 8, wherein step (f) comprises converting the customersatisfaction evaluation information into a numerical value andtransmitting the numerical value to the franchise client to display thenumerical value in real time.
 10. A method of managing franchises usinga credit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting credit-cardpayment information for a goods selection or service use statement of acustomer at a franchise to a franchise client, requesting a card companyfor payment approval, and receiving approval information; (b) outputtingselection items for service satisfaction for the franchise through asign pad connected to the franchise client; (c) when customer responsedata for the survey selection items is received from the sign pad,analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise according to the selection items, andstoring the resultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in adatabase of the customer information server of the head office; and (d)switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.11. A method of managing franchises using a credit-card payment system,comprising: (a) inputting credit-card payment information for a goodsselection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to afranchise client, requesting a card company for payment approval, andreceiving approval information; (b) outputting selection items forservice satisfaction for the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client; (c) when customer response data for the surveyselection items is received from the sign pad, analyzing andstatistically processing customer satisfaction evaluation informationfor the franchise according to the selection items, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database ofa customer information server of a head office, and determining whetherthe customer wins an event; and (d) displaying an indication of whetherthe customer wins an event on the sign pad during a certain period oftime and then switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.
 12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein step (c) comprisesconverting the customer satisfaction evaluation information into anumerical value and transmitting the numerical value to the franchiseclient to display the numerical value in real time.
 13. The method ofclaim 10 or 11, further comprising, between step (c) and step (d), (c-1)calculating an evaluation rating for the franchise based on the customersatisfaction evaluation information, and giving an incentive includingfranchise point save, return support, gift certificate provision, orfree new-product shipment to a good franchise and a penalty includingparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction to abad franchise according to a policy of the head office.
 14. A method ofmanaging franchises using a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a)inputting credit-card payment information for a goods selection orservice use statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchiseclient, confirming a discountable amount of an estimated payment amountfrom a customer information server of a head office when the customerselects point use, and deducting a point corresponding to thediscountable amount from a previously saved point in member informationof the customer; (b) subtracting, by the franchise client, an amountcorresponding to the deducted point from the estimated payment amount torecalculate an estimated payment amount, requesting a card company forpayment approval, and receiving approval information; (c) outputtingselection items for service satisfaction for the franchise through asign pad connected to the franchise client; (d) when customer responsedata for the survey selection items is received from the sign pad,analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise according to the selection items, andstoring the resultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in adatabase of the customer information server; and (e) switching the signpad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.
 15. A method ofmanaging franchises using a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a)inputting credit-card payment information for a goods selection orservice use statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchiseclient, confirming a discountable amount of an estimated payment amountfrom a customer information server of a head office when the customerselects point use, and deducting a point corresponding to thediscountable amount from a previously saved point in member informationof the customer; (b) subtracting, by the franchise client, an amountcorresponding to the deducted point from the estimated payment amount tore-calculate an estimated payment amount, requesting a card company forpayment approval, and receiving approval information; (c) outputtingselection items for service satisfaction for the franchise through asign pad connected to the franchise client; (d) when customer responsedata for the survey selection items is received from the sign pad,analyzing and statistically processing customer satisfaction evaluationinformation for the franchise according to the selection items, storingthe resultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a databaseof the customer information server, and determining whether the customerwins an event; and (e) displaying an indication of whether the customerwins an event on the sign pad during a certain period of time and thenswitching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digital signature.16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein step (d) comprises convertingthe customer satisfaction evaluation information into a numerical valueand transmitting the numerical value to the franchise client to displaythe numerical value in real time.
 17. The method of claim 14 or 15,further comprising, between step (d) and step (e), (d-1) calculating anevaluation rating for the franchise based on the customer satisfactionevaluation information, and giving an incentive including franchisepoint save, return support, gift certificate provision, or freenew-product shipment to a good franchise and a penalty includingparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction to abad franchise according to a policy of the head office.
 18. A method ofmanaging franchises using a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a)inputting a goods selection or service use statement of a customer at afranchise to a franchise client to calculate an estimated paymentamount, inputting member information of the customer to the franchiseclient, and transmitting the member information to a customerinformation server of a head office to request member authentication;(b) receiving, by the customer information server, a memberauthentication request signal for the customer, comparing the memberauthentication request signal with previously stored member informationof the customer to perform authentication processing, and transmittingthe result of authentication processing to the franchise client; (c)inputting credit-card payment information for the estimated paymentamount to the franchise client, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (d) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client and asking whetherthe customer desires to receive survey content through a mobilecommunication terminal of the customer; (e) when a selection input forthe customer to receive the survey content through the mobilecommunication terminal is received from the sign pad, transmitting, bythe customer information server, the selection items for a satisfactionsurvey for service provided by the franchise to the mobile communicationterminal of the customer through telecommunication company service basedon the member information of the customer; (f) receiving, by atelecommunication company server, customer response data for the surveyselection items from the mobile communication terminal of the customerand transmitting the customer response data to the customer informationserver; (g) analyzing and statistically processing, by the customerinformation server, customer satisfaction evaluation information for thefranchise, and storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database; and (h) switching the sign pad to a screenfor obtaining a digital signature.
 19. A method of managing franchisesusing a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goodsselection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to afranchise client to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputtingmember information of the customer to the franchise client, andtransmitting the member information to a customer information server ofa head office to request member authentication; (b) receiving, by thecustomer information server, a member authentication request signal forthe customer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (d) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client and asking whether the customer desires to receivesurvey content through a mobile communication terminal of the customer;(e) when a selection input for the customer to receive the surveycontent through the mobile communication terminal is received from thesign pad, transmitting, by the customer information server, theselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise to the mobile communication terminal of the customer throughtelecommunication company service based on the member information of thecustomer; (f) receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customerresponse data for the survey selection items from the mobilecommunication terminal of the customer and transmitting the customerresponse data to the customer information server; (g) analyzing andstatistically processing, by the customer information server, customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database,and saving an additional point in the member information of thecustomer; and (h) switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining adigital signature.
 20. A method of managing franchises using acredit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goods selectionor service use statement of a customer at a franchise to a franchiseclient to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputting memberinformation of the customer to the franchise client, and transmittingthe member information to a customer information server of a head officeto request member authentication; (b) receiving, by the customerinformation server, a member authentication request signal for thecustomer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,requesting a card company for payment approval, and receiving approvalinformation; (d) outputting selection items for a satisfaction surveyfor service provided by the franchise through a sign pad connected tothe franchise client and asking whether the customer desires to receivesurvey content through a mobile communication terminal of the customer;(e) when a selection input for the customer to receive the surveycontent through the mobile communication terminal is received from thesign pad, transmitting, by the customer information server, theselection items for a satisfaction survey for service provided by thefranchise to the mobile communication terminal of the customer throughtelecommunication company service based on the member information of thecustomer; (f) receiving, by a telecommunication company server, customerresponse data for the survey selection items from the mobilecommunication terminal of the customer and transmitting the customerresponse data to the customer information server; (g) analyzing andstatistically processing, by the customer information server, customersatisfaction evaluation information for the franchise, storing theresultant customer satisfaction evaluation information in a database,determining whether the customer wins an event, and storing the resultof determination in the member information of the customer; and (h)displaying an indication of whether the customer wins an event on thesign pad during a certain period of time and then switching the sign padto a screen for obtaining a digital signature.
 21. The method of any oneof claims 18 to 20, wherein step (g) comprises converting the customersatisfaction evaluation information into a numerical value andtransmitting the numerical value to the franchise client to display thenumerical value in real time.
 22. The method of any one of claims 18 to20, further comprising, between step (g) and step (h), (g-1) calculatingan evaluation rating for the franchise based on the customersatisfaction evaluation information, and giving an incentive includingfranchise point save, return support, gift certificate provision, orfree new-product shipment to a good franchise and a penalty includingparticipation in periodic education performed by the head office, orderrestriction during a certain period of time, or return restriction to abad franchise according to a policy of the head office:
 23. The methodof any one of claims 1 to 3 and 18 to 20, further comprising, betweenstep (b) and step (c), (b-1) calculating, by the franchise client, apoint in a predetermination ratio of the estimated payment amount, andsaving and storing the point in the member information of the customerin the customer information server.
 24. A method of managing franchisesusing a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goodsselection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to afranchise client to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputtingmember information of the customer to the franchise client, andtransmitting the member information to a customer information server ofa head office to request member authentication; (b) receiving, by thecustomer information server, a member authentication request signal forthe customer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,confirming a discountable amount of the estimated payment amount fromthe customer information server when the customer selects point use, anddeducting a point corresponding to the discountable amount from apreviously saved point in the member information of the customer; (d)subtracting, by the franchise client, an amount corresponding to thededucted point from the estimated payment amount to re-calculate anestimated payment amount, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (e) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client and asking whetherthe customer desires to receive survey content through a mobilecommunication terminal of the customer; (f) when a selection input forthe customer to receive the survey content through the mobilecommunication terminal is received from the sign pad, transmitting, bythe customer information server, the selection items for a satisfactionsurvey for service provided by the franchise to the mobile communicationterminal of the customer through telecommunication company service basedon the member information of the customer; (g) receiving, by atelecommunication company server, customer response data for the surveyselection items from the mobile communication terminal of the customerand transmitting the customer response data to the customer informationserver; (h) analyzing and statistically processing, by the customerinformation server, customer satisfaction evaluation information for thefranchise, and storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database; and (i) switching the sign pad to a screenfor obtaining a digital signature.
 25. A method of managing franchisesusing a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goodsselection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to afranchise client to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputtingmember information of the customer to the franchise client, andtransmitting the member information to a customer information server ofa head office to request member authentication; (b) receiving, by thecustomer information server, a member authentication request signal forthe customer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,confirming a discountable amount of the estimated payment amount fromthe customer information server when the customer selects point use, anddeducting a point corresponding to the discountable amount from apreviously saved point in the member information of the customer; (d)subtracting, by the franchise client, an amount corresponding to thededucted point from the estimated payment amount to re-calculate anestimated payment amount, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (e) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client and asking whetherthe customer desires to receive survey content through a mobilecommunication terminal of the customer; (f) when a selection input forthe customer to receive the survey content through the mobilecommunication terminal is received from the sign pad, transmitting, bythe customer information server, the selection items for a satisfactionsurvey for service provided by the franchise to the mobile communicationterminal of the customer through telecommunication company service basedon the member information of the customer; (g) receiving, by atelecommunication company server, customer response data for the surveyselection items from the mobile communication terminal of the customerand transmitting the customer response data to the customer informationserver; (h) analyzing and statistically processing, by the customerinformation server, customer satisfaction evaluation information for thefranchise, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database, and saving an additional point in the memberinformation of the customer; and (i) switching the sign pad to a screenfor obtaining a digital signature.
 26. A method of managing franchisesusing a credit-card payment system, comprising: (a) inputting a goodsselection or service use statement of a customer at a franchise to afranchise client to calculate an estimated payment amount, inputtingmember information of the customer to the franchise client, andtransmitting the member information to a customer information server ofa head office to request member authentication; (b) receiving, by thecustomer information server, a member authentication request signal forthe customer, comparing the member authentication request signal withpreviously stored member information of the customer to performauthentication processing, and transmitting the result of authenticationprocessing to the franchise client; (c) inputting credit-card paymentinformation for the estimated payment amount to the franchise client,confirming a discountable amount of the estimated payment amount fromthe customer information server when the customer selects point use, anddeducting a point corresponding to the discountable amount from apreviously saved point in the member information of the customer; (d)subtracting, by the franchise client, an amount corresponding to thededucted point from the estimated payment amount to re-calculate anestimated payment amount, requesting a card company for paymentapproval, and receiving approval information; (e) outputting selectionitems for a satisfaction survey for service provided by the franchisethrough a sign pad connected to the franchise client and asking whetherthe customer desires to receive survey content through a mobilecommunication terminal of the customer; (f) when a selection input forthe customer to receive the survey content through the mobilecommunication terminal is received from the sign pad, transmitting, bythe customer information server, the selection items for a satisfactionsurvey for service provided by the franchise to the mobile communicationterminal of the customer through telecommunication company service basedon the member information of the customer; (g) receiving, by atelecommunication company server, customer response data for the surveyselection items from the mobile communication terminal of the customerand transmitting the customer response data to the customer informationserver; (h) analyzing and statistically processing, by the customerinformation server, customer satisfaction evaluation information for thefranchise, storing the resultant customer satisfaction evaluationinformation in a database, determining whether the customer wins anevent, and storing the result of determination in the member informationof the customer; and (i) displaying an indication of whether thecustomer wins an event on the sign pad during a certain period of timeand then switching the sign pad to a screen for obtaining a digitalsignature.
 27. The method of any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein step(h) comprises converting the customer satisfaction evaluationinformation into a numerical value and transmitting the numerical valueto the franchise client to display the numerical value in real time. 28.The method of any one of claims 24 to 26, further comprising: betweenstep (h) and step (i), (h-1) calculating an evaluation rating for thefranchise based on the customer satisfaction evaluation information, andgiving an incentive including franchise point save, return support, giftcertificate provision, or free new-product shipment to a good franchise,and a penalty including participation in periodic education performed bythe head office, order restriction during a certain period of time, orreturn restriction to a bad franchise according to a policy of the headoffice.
 29. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, 6 to 8, 14, 15, 18to 20, and 24 to 26, wherein step (a) comprises inputting the usestatement of goods using a bar code or a unique number of goods that thecustomer desires to purchase, and inputting the member information ofthe customer using a membership card provided by the customer or any oneof a member registration number, a resident registration number, or atelephone number of the customer.
 30. The method of any one of claims 1to 3, 6 to 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18 to 20, and 24 to 26, wherein thefranchise client and the customer information server comprise a point ofsales management (POS) system.